Fish Is My Friend ~ Tilapia Tacos with Lemon Herb Sauce

Actually, fish is not really my friend, it's more like an annoying acquaintance. I wouldn't say I HATE fish...I just don't LIKE fish. GoodMan, on the other hand, enjoys fish...he even orders fish when we go out to eat! (How crazy is that?!) Of course, if he didn't order it out he would rarely get the chance to eat it. I have come to realize how unfair that is, so I'm trying to find fish recipes I will want to make at home.

This is a recipe I tried recently. I keep hearing about fish tacos. I have a hard time imagining ordering fish tacos when I go out. If I'm in a Mexican restaurant I can think of any number of dishes I would order ~ fish tacos is not one of them. But I thought I'd try it at home. I put this recipe together with items I had in my kitchen. I'm sure it is nothing like the fish tacos you get at a restaurant ~ because I have never ordered them in a restaurant!

Here's what I did to make Tilapia Tacos with Lemon Herb Sauce:

These are the ingredients I assembled: Tilapia fillets, home made Ranch dressing, capers, lemon, lettuce and flour tortillas.

I started with the lemon herb sauce. I grated the zest of one lemon into my mini food processor.

I added the the juice of one lemon.

And 2 tablespoons of capers.

Then I added one cup of my home made Ranch dressing (just follow the directions on the back of the Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing packet).

I processed everything and then poured it into a dish and added a sprig of parsley as garnish. I put that in the refrigerator while I prepared the fish.

I put olive oil in a fry pan and set the temperature to medium high. I really don't like WET FISH (I think it reminds me of where it's been), so I prefer it to have a little crunch to it. Tender, flaky, moist fish is not what I'm looking for here. I want it a little crispy, and cooked till all that ocean is out of 'em!

When the pan was good and hot I added the fillets. About this time I realized I have no seasoning whatsoever on the fish, so I sprinkled seasoned salt on both sides. I cooked them for about 4 minutes on this side.

And another 4 minutes on this side. I made sure they were opaque and flaked easily with a fork...if there is one thing I don't want to find it's a undercooked piece of fish!

While the fish was cooking I wrapped 4 tortillas in foil and warmed them in the oven at 350 degrees. They can also be warmed in the microwave (without the foil!)

When the fish was done I put fish, lemon herb sauce and lettuce on a tortilla and rolled it up. I had to use toothpicks to keep it together ~ but that worked!

This was the final product. Aren't they lovely? All warm and a little crunchy and saucy...just waiting for some fish-lover to come along.


What is the taste tester's bottom line?

We decided I was a little heavy-handed with the lemon juice. The sauce made you want to pucker. GoodMan liked the fish and he liked the whole taco idea. He thinks next time he'd like to try it with salsa (oh sure, go all Mexican with the whole taco idea). He's probably right, a little cumin might have given it more of a taco vibe.

The bottom line: Fish is still only an acquaintance for me, not my friend ~ but I'll make it again, with a few tweaks.